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madimpossibledreamerJojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: The confrontation with Rush.
Word Count: 1214
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS
Rush does walk toward them a little more, maybe just to make a point. It’s definitely intimidating enough, given everything they’ve seen him do. Johan notes that he purposefully stays right outside of Star Platinum’s range. He doesn’t necessarily know what Star Platinum can do—he probably tried to record what was going on with his traps in the Wolfram & Hart branch and the eyes probably work better than electronics underwater, but it’s not a certainty how much he’d managed to actually get. That being said, he had done his homework about Stands, might have gotten those files on Stand Users after Wolfram & Hart, and probably at least knew the typical range of a power-type Stand. He cares enough to be cautious for those, and isn’t too worried about other types of Stands. “I wonder how much you’ve learned about Paxil. Such a fascinating town. I watched your investigations. It’s possible you’ve learned more about some effects, but less about others—you saw the note about Karmaslave on the map, didn’t you? Your ‘friend’ wrote that on every map he got his hands on.”
Is he stalling, or...maybe trying to trade info? If he is, he’s thinking he’s going to get more out of it than they are. He hasn’t been here before, so he’s not the one that made sure Severin ended up the way he did, but how—maybe he’d had ‘eyes’ on the steam bath. If he’d overheard that, he’d know. Or maybe even if there wasn’t sound, he could read lips. He’s definitely trying to intimidate with what he knows, which means he might not actually know everything he wants to know.
“You hesitated to approach the Tree, but most importantly, the Well. It was prudent enough, trying to avoid actually going inside, but unlike everything else involved, you would have been fine, as long as you didn’t directly interact with the water itself. The effect doesn’t work like you think. Perhaps you could compare it to a hurricane.” Rush puts a hand in his pocket, trying to appear casual.
The perhaps implies that it’s not completely accurate, but a beginning for understanding. At minimum, along with everything else, he’s suggesting that the center doesn’t have the effect, like the eye of the storm. He doesn’t fully explain the strength of the effect, though Johan has to assume it’s not like a real hurricane in that the eye wall is the strongest. It’s not like they lived in Florida or even like they had to prepare as much as for the earthquakes, but it was a conversation they had, especially since for all they knew since it was Sunnydale they’d have a massive freak storm out of nowhere.
If the comparison between Jotaro and Kakyoin is any indication, it’s stronger the further away the individual is from the center, though if anyone actually took the water from the Well and then used it on someone outside, it’d still be just as potent as somebody taking a swim in the area’s ‘holy location’. Some of that might just be the difference in personalities or severity of ‘wrongdoing’, but that can’t be all of it. Which would explain the Scoobies’ reaction to begin with, as well as that one group from Wolfram & Hart, and maybe even have changed the nature of the chalice that Giles blamed to begin with, but how it’d ended out there in the first place is anyone’s guess. Sarde, maybe? Xander would be inclined to blame Rush for another unethical experiment and might even think he’s lying about not actually knowing what it does, but that frustration seems genuine and if he’d actually known, he probably would have killed them all already. No, if anything, perhaps it could be characterized as seeking confirmation. Is he trying to figure out how to use it, or is he simply wanting other scientific minds to fulfill his curiosity?
It’d seem strange that the locals would be scared to approach the Well or the Tree to the point it’s kind of taboo to talk about them, especially if it would be obvious the minute they got close enough, but it’s not, really. They might never have gotten too close to begin with, given that the town is trying to train them out of rebelling against any of the rules in the first place, and it’d only take one person falling in and freaking out for everyone to decide it’s better not to risk it in the first place. It’s not like Sunnydale didn’t have that ‘most stores close at 3 o’clock’ thing, either—anything super bad wouldn’t happen until after dark, and it’s not like most of them knew why they were taking those precautions in the first place, but especially when it’s a taboo that’s hard to talk about it’s easy for people to keep doing stuff without actually knowing why.
Rush shrugs, seemingly a little disappointed he has had no response. “I suppose it has something to do with the effects of the Well. They say water is the source of life, but this Well is the source of reality, feeding it, and the tree is the pin holding the map to the wall. The water itself resists analytical testing, did you know that? Almost as if it’s not from this reality.”
It’s a little hard to follow what happens next in the way that always happens during the middle of a fight. Cinema always makes it seem like it’s easy to tell what’s happening at all times, but that’s just camera work and acting. And maybe some with super reflexes like Buffy can tell, even when it’s pure chaos and there’s a lot of different things going on at once.
Robin and the Captain pull their bow and gun respectively, reacting what sounds like an escalating hum. Maybe they think he’s vibrating the water to build up some kind of devastating water attack, Johan doesn’t know, but while the mistake is understandable given the direction of the sound, it’s not actually coming from Rush, and he’s too slow to tell them that it’s not actually Rush. Rush, either responding to the aggression or realizing that it’s the perfect time to act, throws a grenade—it’s mustard gas, Xander assumes, given that it actually smells a little like mustard. He wouldn’t be surprised if Rush’s Nazi scientist friend had continued testing and shared the results or samples. He starts coughing and his eyes itch, but he feels a mask pull over his face and can suddenly breathe a little again, enough to use hamon to heal the rest of the effects. It must be von Stroheim.
“Get Willow,” he manages, throat still sore, because while absolutely no one is going to be having a good time in this, Willow had had nightmares after their World War II section. Especially after she’d asked about her grandfather. Von Stroheim nods and moves off.
When he looks up, Rush seems to have made a mistake, somehow, because he’s turned to stone, hand reaching toward the sky like a monument to the perils of ambition. It would be fitting, and Xander’s tempted to do a nerdy little wave, but he has the feeling that it’s not going to be that easy.
Chapter Summary: The confrontation with Rush.
Word Count: 1214
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS
Rush does walk toward them a little more, maybe just to make a point. It’s definitely intimidating enough, given everything they’ve seen him do. Johan notes that he purposefully stays right outside of Star Platinum’s range. He doesn’t necessarily know what Star Platinum can do—he probably tried to record what was going on with his traps in the Wolfram & Hart branch and the eyes probably work better than electronics underwater, but it’s not a certainty how much he’d managed to actually get. That being said, he had done his homework about Stands, might have gotten those files on Stand Users after Wolfram & Hart, and probably at least knew the typical range of a power-type Stand. He cares enough to be cautious for those, and isn’t too worried about other types of Stands. “I wonder how much you’ve learned about Paxil. Such a fascinating town. I watched your investigations. It’s possible you’ve learned more about some effects, but less about others—you saw the note about Karmaslave on the map, didn’t you? Your ‘friend’ wrote that on every map he got his hands on.”
Is he stalling, or...maybe trying to trade info? If he is, he’s thinking he’s going to get more out of it than they are. He hasn’t been here before, so he’s not the one that made sure Severin ended up the way he did, but how—maybe he’d had ‘eyes’ on the steam bath. If he’d overheard that, he’d know. Or maybe even if there wasn’t sound, he could read lips. He’s definitely trying to intimidate with what he knows, which means he might not actually know everything he wants to know.
“You hesitated to approach the Tree, but most importantly, the Well. It was prudent enough, trying to avoid actually going inside, but unlike everything else involved, you would have been fine, as long as you didn’t directly interact with the water itself. The effect doesn’t work like you think. Perhaps you could compare it to a hurricane.” Rush puts a hand in his pocket, trying to appear casual.
The perhaps implies that it’s not completely accurate, but a beginning for understanding. At minimum, along with everything else, he’s suggesting that the center doesn’t have the effect, like the eye of the storm. He doesn’t fully explain the strength of the effect, though Johan has to assume it’s not like a real hurricane in that the eye wall is the strongest. It’s not like they lived in Florida or even like they had to prepare as much as for the earthquakes, but it was a conversation they had, especially since for all they knew since it was Sunnydale they’d have a massive freak storm out of nowhere.
If the comparison between Jotaro and Kakyoin is any indication, it’s stronger the further away the individual is from the center, though if anyone actually took the water from the Well and then used it on someone outside, it’d still be just as potent as somebody taking a swim in the area’s ‘holy location’. Some of that might just be the difference in personalities or severity of ‘wrongdoing’, but that can’t be all of it. Which would explain the Scoobies’ reaction to begin with, as well as that one group from Wolfram & Hart, and maybe even have changed the nature of the chalice that Giles blamed to begin with, but how it’d ended out there in the first place is anyone’s guess. Sarde, maybe? Xander would be inclined to blame Rush for another unethical experiment and might even think he’s lying about not actually knowing what it does, but that frustration seems genuine and if he’d actually known, he probably would have killed them all already. No, if anything, perhaps it could be characterized as seeking confirmation. Is he trying to figure out how to use it, or is he simply wanting other scientific minds to fulfill his curiosity?
It’d seem strange that the locals would be scared to approach the Well or the Tree to the point it’s kind of taboo to talk about them, especially if it would be obvious the minute they got close enough, but it’s not, really. They might never have gotten too close to begin with, given that the town is trying to train them out of rebelling against any of the rules in the first place, and it’d only take one person falling in and freaking out for everyone to decide it’s better not to risk it in the first place. It’s not like Sunnydale didn’t have that ‘most stores close at 3 o’clock’ thing, either—anything super bad wouldn’t happen until after dark, and it’s not like most of them knew why they were taking those precautions in the first place, but especially when it’s a taboo that’s hard to talk about it’s easy for people to keep doing stuff without actually knowing why.
Rush shrugs, seemingly a little disappointed he has had no response. “I suppose it has something to do with the effects of the Well. They say water is the source of life, but this Well is the source of reality, feeding it, and the tree is the pin holding the map to the wall. The water itself resists analytical testing, did you know that? Almost as if it’s not from this reality.”
It’s a little hard to follow what happens next in the way that always happens during the middle of a fight. Cinema always makes it seem like it’s easy to tell what’s happening at all times, but that’s just camera work and acting. And maybe some with super reflexes like Buffy can tell, even when it’s pure chaos and there’s a lot of different things going on at once.
Robin and the Captain pull their bow and gun respectively, reacting what sounds like an escalating hum. Maybe they think he’s vibrating the water to build up some kind of devastating water attack, Johan doesn’t know, but while the mistake is understandable given the direction of the sound, it’s not actually coming from Rush, and he’s too slow to tell them that it’s not actually Rush. Rush, either responding to the aggression or realizing that it’s the perfect time to act, throws a grenade—it’s mustard gas, Xander assumes, given that it actually smells a little like mustard. He wouldn’t be surprised if Rush’s Nazi scientist friend had continued testing and shared the results or samples. He starts coughing and his eyes itch, but he feels a mask pull over his face and can suddenly breathe a little again, enough to use hamon to heal the rest of the effects. It must be von Stroheim.
“Get Willow,” he manages, throat still sore, because while absolutely no one is going to be having a good time in this, Willow had had nightmares after their World War II section. Especially after she’d asked about her grandfather. Von Stroheim nods and moves off.
When he looks up, Rush seems to have made a mistake, somehow, because he’s turned to stone, hand reaching toward the sky like a monument to the perils of ambition. It would be fitting, and Xander’s tempted to do a nerdy little wave, but he has the feeling that it’s not going to be that easy.
